How to promote physical activity among people with visual impairment and multiple disabilities?

Background: People with visual impairment and multiple disabilities (MDVI) obviously benefit from being physically active. However, they hardly participate in physical activities. This may be caused by a lack of evidence-based physical activity interventions specifically designed for people with MDVI. Happily, recently support professionals developed all kinds of initiatives to promote physical activity among people with MDVI. This study investigated and evaluated the use of these initiatives and aimed to develop an evidence-based program to promote structural and specific physical activity in the support of people with MDVI. Method: A convenience sample of support professionals (n = 42) completed a questionnaire about the physical activities offered in their organization. By means of multiple sources (documents, personal interviews, and observations) this study investigated the quality and potential of these practical initiatives by the use of on an existing format. Subsequently, based on the practical initiatives this study developed an individualized physical activity program to structurally integrate individually selected physical activities in the support of people with MDVI. Results: During the congress, first an overview of provided physical activities and their potential effectiveness will be presented. Second, the development process of the individualized physical activity program will be presented. Conclusions: This study will increase the knowledge on the quality and potential of different practical initiatives aimed at physical activity participation among people with MDVI. This knowledge is important to select physical activities based on the individual needs, preferences, and possibilities of people with MDIV in order to optimize their life situation and support on physical activity.